02 AUGUST 2015

Blackledge Headlines Bolton Fight Night

North West sports fans will be spoilt for choice at Bolton’s Reebok Stadium in England on December 9, with a top afternoon of professional boxing and football action on the agenda.

The entertainment kicks off with the Manchester derby being shown on big screens at 1.30pm, followed by a nine-bout boxing card from 3.30pm topped by Accrington’s 12-fight unbeaten prospect Luke Blackledge battling Sheffield’s Wayne Reed for the Central Area super-middleweight title.

Blackledge, 22, will be desperate to make amends after getting a scare in his last outing when he was held to a draw by Zimbabwean Farai Musiyiwa in early November.

That lacklustre showing was all the more disappointing after Luke had been a convincing points winner just a few weeks prior when beating Carl Wild for the British Masters light-heavyweight belt.

“I started off flat from the beginning,” recalled Luke about the Musiyiwa contest, “but I’ve only got myself to blame for that performance.

“To be honest I was missing training and was switching off as well, but I felt alright and thought I could get away with it.

“I should have beaten him all day long. He performed at his best and I still got a draw, but in that fight it just wasn’t me.

“I was really disappointed. I felt like I’d let a lot of people down and I’ve changed a lot of things since, like my diet. I’ve been training hard, and against Reed I’ll box to the best of my ability.”

Wayne, 25, who enters the contest on the back of two KO victories, won’t be an easy night’s work for Blackledge. With 10 wins from 15 bouts, the Yorkshire man is more experienced, has almost as many wins and - although losing to them - has mixed with the likes of British super-middleweight champion Kenny Anderson and former world champion Robin Reid.

“He’s a southpaw and they can obviously be awkward but I’ve got a game plan,” revealed Luke, who beat former European champion Mads Larsen in just his tenth outing.

“He can fight and I know I’m going to have to be at my best. I think it’ll be a really good fight; he’s stopped his last couple of opponents.

"This is a big opportunity after the last performance and I’m just really happy to be boxing. Obviously I want to smash him and get that title.”

“We’re looking for something big from Luke in this fight,” stated VIP Promotions head Steve Wood. “He didn’t do himself, his team, or his fans, justice last time out and all of us want to see the real Luke Blackledge in this contest.

“We’ve also got a lot of other young, very talented fighters appearing on the show and, with the football being shown on the big screens first and then the boxing, there’s something for everyone and fans can come along and make a whole day of it.”